ABSTRACT
Objective To study the characteristics of mouse-desktop and wrist-desktop contact pressure distributions during different mouse operations, and investigate the influence of desktop on the mouse and wrist during mouse operations, so as to obtain biomechanical references for musculoskeletal disorders of the hand and wrist. Methods The laser scanner and TekScan pressure measurement system were employed to measure contact area and contact pressure of the mouse and wrist during different mouse operations. Results The contact pressure, contact area, and contact force varied with time, and the peak contact pressure of the mouse and wrist with desktop were obtained. The peak contact pressure of the mouse in single clicking of left, right key and scrolling of middle key was 62.87, 33.83, 74.66 kPa, respectively, and for the wrist, the minimum contact pressure appeared in key clicking, being 23.25, 11.02, 16.26 kPa, respectively. Conclusions During mouse operations, the thenar, hypothenar as well as the ulnar and radial sides of the wrist are persistently subjected to the continuous pressure, therefore, repetitive and continuous mouse operation can lead to the development of carpal tunnel syndrome of wrist or other MSDs.
ABSTRACT
Objective To study the characteristics of mouse-desktop and wrist-desktop contact pressure distributions during different mouse operations,and investigate the influence of desktop on the mouse and wrist during mouse operations,so as to obtain biomechanical references for musculoskeletal disorders of the hand and wrist.Methods The laser scanner and TekScan pressure measurement system were employed to measure contact area and contact pressure of the mouse and wrist during different mouse operations.Results The contact pressure,contact area,and contact force varied with time,and the peak contact pressure of the mouse and wrist with desktop were obtained.The peak contact pressure of the mouse in single clicking of left,right key and scrolling of middle key was 62.87,33.83,74.66 kPa,respectively,and for the wrist,the minimum contact pressure appeared in key clicking,being 23.25,11.02,16.26 kPa,respectively.Conclusions During mouse operations,the thenar,hypothenar as well as the ulnar and radial sides of the wrist are persistently subjected to the continuous pressure,therefore,repetitive and continuous mouse operation can lead to the development of carpal tunnel syndrome of wrist or other MSDs.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: This paper aims at investigating the fitness of available computer mouse interfaces to each level of cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) patients ranging from C4 to C7. METHOD: Several commercially available computer mouse interfaces were selected for performance evaluation. They were head pointer, touch screen, button mouse, big-ball mouse, and mouse pad. Usual mouse with rubber pad was also tested for the C6-C7 SCI patients. The performance of each interface was evaluated in terms of average click rate of moving target box and patient's satisfaction. RESULTS: The results that the touch screen and the head pointer were superior to other interfaces in terms of click rate. However, in terms of the satisfaction ratio, C4-C5 SCI patients preferred the head pointer and C6-C7 SCI patients preferred the big-ball mouse. The difference in click rate and satisfaction ratio was attributed to the convenience of the interface, i.e., the necessity and type of orthosis when using the mouse interface. CONCLUSION: The results showed that the patients' preference was determined mainly by the convenience. Therefore, the convenience of the interface must be fully considered in the design and selection of computer interface for the SCI patients.